Movie Review: Attack the Block

Attack the Block (2011) 

Directed by Joe Cornish

Written by Joe Coronish

Starring Jon Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Esmail, Nick Frost, Luke Treadaway

Release Date May 11th, 2011 

Published August 14th, 2011

"Attack the Block" director Joe Cornish recalls, in the making of documentary that accompanies the DVD release of "Attack the Block," one of the most talked about independent films of 2011, that he was watching the M. Night Shyamalan film "Signs" when the idea for "Attack the Block" came to him.

"Signs," for those that don't recall, was about an alien invasion and how a family living on a farm in Middle America dealt with this bizarre occurrence. Cornish imagined a slightly different scenario for aliens that landed on the block where he grew up, in a dodgy part of London.

The essential idea behind "Attack the Block" is simply what might happen if aliens attempted to invade a gang and drug infested block of a bad London neighborhood. The story unfolds with Moses (John Boyega) confronting and eventually killing the first alien invader.

Unfortunately, the first alien is merely the bait for an invasion of much larger and much more dangerous aliens that resemble a monkey crossed with a large dog. As more aliens arrive on the block, Moses and his crew including Pest (Alex Esmail), Jerome (Leeon Jones), Dennis (Franz Drameh) and Biggz (Simon Howard) end up in a fight for their lives.

Along for the ride is Sam (Jodie Whittaker) who goes from being mugged by the gang to joining them on the run from the alien beasts. Ron (Nick Frost) and Brewis (Luke Treadway) are drug dealers and customers who get dragged into things when the gang brings the first alien corpse to Ron's apartment for safe-keeping while Hi-Hatz (Jumayn Hunter) is a drug dealer who targets the gang for revenge.

Writer-director Joe Cornish takes his very simple premise and infuses it with the energy and creativity of a cast of first time actors; of the gang only John Boyega had any previous screen credit. The energy of "Attack the Block" as well as the authentic sounding slang, delivered through thick, almost indistinguishable accents, give "Attack the Block" a ballsy, nervy essence that is infectious.

"Attack the Block" is an exciting and energetic feature that clangs by at an incredible pace toward an unexpected and ingenious ending that evokes elements of "Independence Day" and "Die Hard" on a much smaller, no-budget scale.

"Attack the Block" emerged at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas back in March and looked as if it might become a major release phenomenon. Soon after that however, after critics raved about the film, talk turned to an American adaptation and the film lost momentum in a modest platform release.

Now, "Attack the Block" is on DVD and Blu-Ray. Don't wait for the American adaptation; see "Attack the Block" today, even if you do need the subtitles to understand it.